Caretaker Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa confirmed this morning that all six telcos except for Maxis have executed their 5G access agreements with Digital Nasional Berhad, which will enable them to offer retail 5G services to consumers. He said the delay in the signing was due to amendments to the equity deal and pricing negotiations on the reference access offer (RAO). He said the RAO determines the 5G wholesale pricing which will also affect the retail pricing for consumers and it will be regulated by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
Comms Minister @AnnuarMusa revealed all telcos except for Maxis have signed the 5G access agreement with DNB. He said 12 million smartphone users in Malaysia can get “access” to 5G by end of 2022. https://t.co/wQMqvtwxTc pic.twitter.com/rgGQe2FtUR
— SoyaCincau (@Soya_Cincau) November 1, 2022
Annuar Musa said 31st October 2022 was the deadline for the telcos to sign the access agreement with DNB. He said 5 out of 6 telcos have signed which includes Celcom Axiata Berhad, Digi Telecommunications Berhad, U Mobile Sdn Bhd, YTL Communications (Yes 5G) and Telekom Malaysia (Unifi Mobile).
Responding to critics complaining that 5G isn’t available in Malaysia, Annuar explained many don’t understand that the 5G progress announced so far is just the infrastructure. Before customers can enjoy actual 5G services, the telcos will need to sign a wholesale agreement with DNB in order to provide 5G to its users. He thanked all parties including the telcos for completing the deal as many Malaysians have been waiting to experience 5G services.
Following the signing of the access agreements, all telcos can get access immediately and can offer 5G services to their customers very soon except for Maxis. With the latest developments, Annuar said 12 million smartphone users will be able to get “access” to 5G by the end of this year (2022). He explained the figure is based on access to retail 5G services while the national 5G network currently has 33.2% population coverage nationwide.
Prior to this, YTL Communications (Yes 5G) was the only telco offering 5G services in Malaysia. Now, consumers will soon be able to get 5G from more telcos including Celcom, Digi, U Mobile and Telekom Malaysia. However, the biggest condition is that consumers must have a 5G-enabled device. Annuar said some complained about not getting 5G on their phone but turns out they don’t have a 5G-enabled device. He reminded users to have a 5G line and a 5G device in order to enjoy the services.
DNB’s key 5G vendor, Ericsson, has recently released a report which expects 4 million Malaysians to sign up for 5G in 2023. In terms of coverage, DNB’s original plan is aimed at achieving 40% 5G population coverage by the end of 2022 and to achieve 80% 5G population coverage by the end of 2024. At the moment, 5G services are now available from Yes 5G, Unifi Mobile and Celcom. U Mobile has announced that 5G services will be available starting 3rd November, while no dates were provided by Digi and Maxis.
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Related reading
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